SB 5.8.22 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

आसादितहविषि बर्हिषि दूषिते मयोपालब्धो भीतभीत: सपद्युपरतरास ऋषिकुमारवदवहितकरणकलाप आस्ते ॥ २२ ॥

Verse text

āsādita-haviṣi barhiṣi dūṣite mayopālabdho bhīta-bhītaḥ sapady uparata-rāsa ṛṣi-kumāravad avahita-karaṇa-kalāpa āste.

Synonyms

āsādita — placed ; haviṣi — all the ingredients to be offered in the sacrifice ; barhiṣi — on the kuśa grass ; dūṣite — when polluted ; mayā upālabdhaḥ — being scolded by me ; bhīta — bhītaḥ — in great fear ; sapadi — immediately ; uparata — rāsaḥ — stopped its playing ; ṛṣi — kumāravat — exactly like the son or disciple of a saintly person ; avahita — completely restrained ; karaṇa — kalāpaḥ — all the senses ; āste — sits .

Translation

When I placed all the sacrificial ingredients on the kuśa grass, the deer, when playing, would touch the grass with its teeth and thus pollute it. When I chastised the deer by pushing it away, it would immediately become fearful and sit down motionless, exactly like the son of a saintly person. Thus it would stop its play.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When the deer would contaminate the ingredients for sacrifice placed on kuśa grass, I would scold it. Fearful, it would immediately stop playing and like the son of a sage would sit with restrained senses. The deer would contaminate the ingredients places on the kuśa grass by touching them with his teeth. Another version has dūṣitvā: having contaminated the kuśa. I would scold the deer. “Ah! What have you done?” It would give up its play and remain with motionless senses.

Purport

Bharata Mahārāja was constantly thinking of the activities of the deer, forgetting that such meditation and diversion of attention was killing his progress in spiritual achievement.